When the flames licked the spine of the book "A Brief History of Time" in my hand, the first thought that flashed through my mind was: How much money will this cost?
The second thought is: Lao Wang is crazy.
Lao Wang, Wang Jianguo, a veteran employee of the library's ancient book restoration room for thirty years, is standing in the middle of the reading room, with his hands stretched out, palms upward, and two fist-sized orange-red flames jumping happily. The expression on his face was a mixture of ecstasy, fear and an almost epileptic excitement, and the wrinkles looked like cracks in a dry riverbed in the firelight.
"Look! Did you see it?" His voice was hoarse and cracked, "It's on fire! It's really on fire!"
There was dead silence, then an explosion of chaos.
Screaming, tables and chairs overturned, books clattering to the floor. Several young students who looked like students rushed towards the door. One of them stumbled and hit his head on the corner of the metal bookshelf, making a dull "thunk" sound. He did not stop, covering his forehead and continued to rush out.
I stood still. Not calm, but confused.
